South Korea’s financial regulator set to launch robo-advisor test bed

The robo-advisor market is expected to continue to develop rapidly both locally and abroad .

South Korea's Financial Services Commission (FSC) said that the country will soon begin the process of introducing a full-fledged computer-advised asset management system.

The nation's financial regulator will first confirm whether the industry is ready to offer unmanned services, according to Yonhap News Agency.

Some brokerage firms have already operated robo-advisors on a limited basis with brokers involved.

"There have been market concerns about the trustworthiness and stability of robo-advisors," said the FSC, which is tasked with regulating and reforming the financial market. "We will operate a test bed, inviting local financial services or technology firms to join the initiative."

Relevant information will be available next month at the website www.RAtestbed.kr.

After a few months of the test-run, the FSC will pick firms to be allowed to provide full-scale robo-advisor services.

The robo-advisor market is expected to develop rapidly both locally in Korea and abroad. It is forecast to grow to an estimated US$450 billion worldwide in 2020, according to Swiss research company MyPrivateBanking Research.